Bracelet



Jan. 23, 31951 R. L. WELLS 2,539,110

BRACELET Filed June 7, 1944 Patented Jan. 23,1951

UN'lTED STATES PATENT OFFECE Wells Manufacturing Company,

Attleboro,

Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application June 7, 1944, Serial N 0. 539,116

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to bracelets, and

re-assembly of the same.

Another object is to provide a bracelet that shall expose no base metal for contacting with the wearers skin.

Other and further objects will be explained hereinafter, and will be particularly pointed out 1 in the appended claim.

The invention will now be explained in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is an elevation of a bracelet embodying the present invention; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section, upon a larger scale, taken upon the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 3 is a transverse section upon a still larger scale, taken upon the line s s of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the";

arrows; Fig. 4 is a section similar to Fig. 2, with the parts in relatively difierent positions; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section, upon a larger scale, taken upon the line 55 of Fig. l, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 6 is a section similar to Figs. 2 and l, showing the parts in still different relative positions, for purposes of disassembly; and Fig. 7 is a transverse section, upon a larger scale, taken upon the line ll of Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows.

The improved bracelet of the present invention may comprise an intermediately disposed identification link having an identification surface 2, an end link 43 disposed at each end thereof, and further links 6, terminating in links 3 for attachment to a watch or other element (not shown). The identification link and one of the end links i may be referred to as one pair of link members, and the identification link and the other end link 4 may be referred to as 45 another pair of link members.

The identification link is shown as comprising a supporting U-shaped metal member It! and a metal covering U-shaped member l2 providing a hollow space it between t em. The cover U-shaped member is shown with terminal lips !5 at the ends of the arms is of the U, received in depr ssions as at the sides of the body of the U 'of the supporting member Hi. The arms 22 of the U of the supporting member It may engage more or less snugly against the arms 53 of the cover member l2.

The U-shaped supporting and cover members It and I2 constitute a hollow supporting housing member it, I2 for two elongated hollow connecting members 26. lhe housing member l9, i2 is open at its ends, in order to permit the connecting members to slide into and out of the housing through these ends, but it is otherwise closed.

Though the parts ill and i2 of this housing member I I2 are held snugly together, they may be separated by sliding one longitudinally upon the other. This may be useful for purposes of assembly or repair. The supporting and cover members it] and i2 are shown slightly curved, to conform to the curvature of the wrist. Their relative sliding movement is not interfered with by the curvature, since the radiusv of curvature is approximately the same in both cases.

The hollow connecting members 2% are each of outside cross-section corresponding to the cross-section of the hollow of the supporting member :0, l2. They therefore fit in the housing of the supporting member l0, l2, withtheir outside walls in contact with the inside walls of the supporting member :8, i2.

Each connecting member 2 3 is shown constituted of a metal strip bent into the form of a parallelopiped with open bottom and top, but curved laterally to conform to the curvature of the members Ill and I2, so as to permit of sliding movement of the connecting members in the identification-link housing. The connecting member is shown almost completely within the housing member H3, l2 in Fig. 2, and partially retracted in Fig. 4.

Each connecting member 21% houses a compression spring 25, one end of which engages against an end 23 of the connecting member, and the other end of which engages against a stop 35. Two such stops 3% are provided, bridging the arms 22 of the supporting member ill, one at each end thereof. The stops may be provided in any desired manner, as by soldering or bending. The springs 26 maintain the conn cting members 24 normally Within the housing member Id, I2, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

The other end of each connect ng member 24. is provided with a hook which may be formed during the process of bending the metal of the connecting member into parallelepiped form, as before described. One of the end links 4 is secured to each hook 32. To expand the bracelet, therefore, all that is necessary is to pull upon the end links 4, whereupon they will become moved away from the identification link, as illustrated in Fig. 4, to provide a gap 34 between each end link 4 and the identification link. The gap 34, however, is bridged by the connecting members 24. The continuity of the bracelet, therefore, remains unbroken by this separation of the end links 4 from the identification link, owing to the nature of the connection between the identification link and the end links 4 provided by the connecting members.

To disassemble the bracelet, for purposes of repair, or to increase or decrease the number of links 6, or for other reasons, the supporting member l6 may be slid to one side with respect to the cover member 12, and one of the connecting members may then be moved to the same side, to expose its end 28. The connecting member may then be removed by pressing on the part 23. The bracelet may thus be assembled and disassembled without the necessity for using tools, soldering, or anything else except ones fingers, The dealer may, therefore, repair the bracelet himself, on the spot, and without sending the bracelet to the factory for repair.

The degree of expansion of this bracelet is substantially the combined length of the two connecting members 24, or the length of the identification member, in addition to such expansion as may be provided between the links 4 and 6.

It will be observed that the construction is such that only the gold-filled parts contact with the wearer's skin. The base metal is all covered by the gold.

Modifications will occur to persons skilled in the art, and all such are considered to fall within the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

An identification member comprising a U- shaped supporting member provided with two stops bridging the arms of the U at the respective ends of the supporting member, a U-shaped cover for the U-shaped supporting member, the arms of the U-shaped supporting member having means for holding the U-shaped cover and the U-shaped supporting member together to form a hollow housing between the supporting member and the cover but permitting relative sliding movement of the U-shaped members to permit their detachment, two hollow connecting members each telescopically fitted in the hollow housing with their outside walls in contact with the inside walls of the hollow housing, and two springs respectively disposed in the hollow connecting members between the respective connecting members and the respective stops to oppose the slidable movement of the connecting members outwardly of said hollow, the connecting members comprising strips bent into the form of parallelepipeds in which the springs are respectively bound, the connecting members having terminal portions at the ends of the hollow housing for connecting the identification memher to parts of the bracelet, and the terminal portions of the connecting members being movable slidably out of the hollow housing in oppo sition to the action of the respective springs the U-shaped supporting member and the U-shaped cover being longitudinally adjustable with respect to each other to permit detaching the connecting members.

RAYMOND L. WELLS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,065,675 Forsell June 24, 1913 1,197,889 Allen Sept. 12, 1916 1,833,013 Anderson Nov. 24, 1931 2,108,892 Kestenman Feb. 22, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 164,640 Great Britain June 16, 1921 212,043 Great Britain Jan. 24, 1923 

